As the title suggests, the Sheffield Steelers have officially finished their recruitment campaign ready for the 2014-15 season
It seems to have been worth the wait for these final 2 signings, a wait that has crippled a few of you out there!
I’m going to cover both signings in this post, first of which, Colton Fretter.
The Ontario born forward stands at around 5’10” and weighs in at around 180lbs. Not the biggest by any means, but by God, do his points and standard make up for it. Drafted in 2002 (230th overall) by the Atlanta Thrashers, Fretter was picked higher than guys like Maxime Talbot (Colorado Avalanche), Dennis Wideman (Calgary Flames) and NHL fringe player Ryan Craig (Springfield Falcons). Fretter himself spent a lot of his time in the AHL, 186 games to be exact, picking up 110 points in those games. He became a well-established goal scorer and took that into Europe with him.
Playing in places like HC Bolzano (Italy), Iserlohn Roosters (Germany), Olten (Switzerland) and most recently Klagenfurter AC (Austria); Fretter brings his scoring ability throughout his career. Scoring more than a point a game with HC Bolzano and Olten, and coming pretty close to the in Germany and Austria too.
Could he be the guy we need to replace the boots of Jeff Legue? Time will tell about that.
Fretter is well travelled, as highlighted above, he has played in 6 different countries in 6 different years, but for me, that doesn’t mean he isn’t committed, it means he wants to ply his trade in the best place possible that allows him to win. This will be his first 2 year contract within Europe and he seems excited to have that after listening to his interview with Peter Spencer, in which he also said he didn’t want to sound like a sore loser but he “hates losing” and will do whatever it takes to help the team win.
Let me tell you, I like this guy, and that sentence made me like him even more. Yes, players will say what makes them sound good to local press before they make it here, but this guy sounded very genuine. Didn’t hide the fact he was travelled and that he wants to work on his defensive side to his game, just openly said that he wants to win, and he feels Sheffield is the best place to do so.
My final word on him will be that he has had since February to work on his game and stay match fit, I’m sure he will have done that and by God, am I excited to see this guy on our ice on Orange.
I’m not done yet!
We also signed out final D man to add to the pack! “Mr. Twighlight” himself, Cullen Eddy. Hailing from Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania, Eddy stands at 6’ and around 200lbs. The average size defenceman but apparently he LOVES playing the body.
Eddy comes with an AHL pedigree, spending the last 4 years with the Adirondack Phantoms (affiliates of the Philadelphia Flyers) – and every so often playing in the ECHL between that. With over 200 games in the AHL, a big guy like this doesn’t surprise when he comes with 362 PIMS in those games. I won’t lie, that excited me. I’m one for old time hockey, so high PIMS makes me think he is too!
He comes to Sheffield at the ripe age of 25, straight from the AHL; hence why a lot of people have been mentioning the name Dion Darling. I never got to see Darling play, but from what I hear about him, Eddy, you have a lot to live up to if you want to be the next DD! The thing that does stand out to me with his age is that he is still able to adapt, he is young enough to be a different type of player if asked. If anyone can get the best out of these type of players, it’s got to be Mr. Adams.
After reading a few tweets, two stood out for me, which were;
“@PhillyboyinSC: Definitely a fan favourite. Broke leg in a game once and played almost the whole game injured. #WarriorStrong”
“@MarchHockey: As a Philly fan, Eddy donning one set of Orange and Black for another isn’t all that great Steeler fans. Spends a lot of time in the box”
The first tweet... wow. If that is indeed the case, this guy is DEFINITELY going to be a fan favourite. Sounding like an absolute animal, it makes me more excited to see the guy! As for the second one from our Canadian EIHL fan, Ashley March, it doesn’t come as a surprise. I can only hope the EIHL referees have had some sort of change of heart in the summer and allow the game to be played rather than turning it into the “stripy show”. Even after that though, Ms. March believes he does enjoy playing the body, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!
For me, out of the two of the final guys, I am more excited to see Cullen Eddy, but that’s because he is the type of player I LOVE watching. Who do you want to see more? How do you feel about these additions?
Don’t forget to tell us on Twitter @FrozenSteelBlog and @RatedRDG, or even have a chat on the forum at http://frozensteel.proboards.com/.
Thanks again for reading!
Ryan Gleeson
@RatedRDG
No comments:
Post a Comment